Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Wedding Prep: Gown Selection at Blessed Brides

The wedding date is drawing closer, and I'm really starting to get into the wedding prep for real now! This Friday, I'll be flying off to Korea together with YZ for our pre-wedding shoot, and once we're back, it's also time to meet up with all our wedding vendors to start discussing about the big day!

So far, everyone has been chasing after me and calling me a "chillax" bride haha! Guess I'm not gonna be one of those bride-zillas but you'll never know, I might transform into one once time gets even shorter...

I finally fixed an appointment with my bridal studio, Blessed Brides, last Sunday, to go down with YZ to start trying on gowns and deciding what kind of gown I want for my AD (actual day)!

Unlike most brides who go "shopping" down the entire stretch of bridal boutiques along Tanjong Pagar, I actually didn't look around that much: Blessed Brides was recommended by Jiamei who's getting married just after me and had already signed a package with Blessed Brides! Went down with Jiamei to Blessed Brides once, and I decided to go with Blessed Brides because their price-point is affordable, they do MTM (made-to-measure) and they are really flexible! Another plus point is that Valerie (whom I'm working with at Blessed Brides) is an extremely lovely lady and is wonderful to work with!

For those who are interested to know, I'm taking a package with Blessed Brides that includes one wedding gown rental, and one evening gown.

So for my wedding gown, I'll be picking one off-the-rack design from the labels that Blessed Brides carries, and then I'll be getting a MTM evening gown customised for me. Super exciting heh.

One of the customisation works in progress.

Catalogue for the Clara Rosa range.. They are all gorgeous and to-die-for!

Some brides like to keep their groom in suspense and don't allow their fiances to come along for the gown selection/fittings, but I know YZ is the kind who wants to be thoroughly involved in the gown selection haha. So I decided to bring YZ along so that he could offer his opinions on the gowns.

It was my first time really trying on gowns and I wasn't sure what to expect! So for the brides-to-be like me, just try on as many gowns in different designs and styles as you can without worrying about whether it will suit you or not. The motto is.. If you never try, you'll never know!

You might even be surprised to find out what you might end up liking instead!

The feeling of donning on a wedding gown... Feels so surreal. Haha. Like I'm a little girl trying to play dress-up in my mother's grown-up clothes. Most of the gowns are all quite heavy and can make you feel like you're swathed in layers and layers of fabric. The staff will assist you in changing in and out of gowns, so not to worry!

I started picking out random gowns to try on, and I'm going to share a few of those I tried on! :D

Oh by the way, some bridal studios don't allow photo-taking, but Val told me that's usually not generally allowed unless you've already signed a package with the bridal studio.

One of the first few gowns I tried was a toga design! I actually liked it but I think it's too high-cut for me and doesn't show enough of my neckline to look flattering.

The gown that I'm carrying in this shot had straps and YZ veto-ed it immediately: seems like the cleaner bustier designs are more to his preference!

I really really love this gown from Clara Rosa but I don't have the neck and shoulders and waist to carry it off!! It is so elegant and pretty! If I had a longer neck, I'd definitely consider this.

A-line gowns are somewhat the most popular styles of wedding gowns, but I tried on a few and I felt that they didn't really suit me.. Pretty but has less presence and character somehow? This gown had really pretty asymmetrical mesh drapes down the skirting that I loved though!!

In the process of donning on a gown.. It ain't easy work to be in one of these babies, they are all so heavy and thick!

This is a sort of cross between A-line and mermaid.. With a shoe-lace back that's gonna need some help to get in and out off!

I really like the layers of mesh and tulle at the skirt which has a sort of trumpet skirt feel, but this didn't make me go "Wow" when I put it on. I guess it's a gut feeling sometimes and you have to go with what your heart tells you!

This is one of the designs I really fell in love with!! And that's Val by the way holding in the waist of the gown for me because it's a little too big for me and was slightly shapeless.

I'm quite convinced to pick a gown with a mermaid cut now because I love it!! So extremely elegant and classy workout being too girly-ish. You know what I mean?

Wish I had a smaller waist and hips though.. The gowns would look so much better on me! Must work hard in the next six months to try to get to my desired silhouette!!

First I have to lose some weight to fit into these gowns better. I need more waist and hip definition! Thankfully, there's Slim Couture to help me. I showed Joanne and Sherlin (the two bosses) the wedding gowns and they are eagerly planning my weight loss programme and schedule for me to be ready on my big day! I really hope I can do it!

Damn in love with all the intricacy of the lace details..

SO PRETTY!!!

Sigh pie. These are the three gowns that I'm currently contemplating about and each one is so gorgeous in its own way that I really can't make up my mind!

It seems a little too early to pick now but cos I'm getting my evening gown custom-made, it's better to settle the wedding gown first so that I can narrow down my choices for my evening gown as well. After I decide on my wedding gown, I'll then be able to focus on what kind of design and silhouette I want for my evening gown and start visualizing my evening gown together with Blessed Brides!

I'm not gonna share which my final gown pick is going to be yet.. And also because I'm still undecided at the moment! How do you actually choose just one wedding gown when there are sooo many beautiful choices? :(((

Bridal gowns are really so gorgeous!
Oh, I ran into a reader at Blessed Brides too, quite by coincidence! This reader is getting married in March 2015 and she chanced upon Blessed Brides via my Instagram!
Happy to spread the word about Blessed Brides cos although they are a small studio, they have got awesome dedicated service and most importantly they are affordable but good!

Together with Mr Bai who patiently watched me try on gowns, snap photos and offer his opinions! Love you baby. Can't be happier to move to the next stage of our relationship together.. :')

It hasn't properly settled in that we are going to be man and wife in six months time! The whole concept of marriage and a wedding hasn't really solidified in my head yet, hahaha. But once we're back from our Korea trip, it'll be time to start sending out "Save-the-date"s as well as meeting up with all my other vendors: my wedding planners, styling team and everyone to start the real planning.

I think I'm gonna die. Hahaha. I'm so damn busy already what with TVD's re-launch and everything else that I'm doing! Hopefully I'll be able to leave the planning in the good hands of my wedding planners (Inside The Knot) and styling team (MerryLove Weddings).

Now, I'm gonna worry about looking good for my pre-wed shoot first! Just a few more days to goooooooo! And I'll be back with more wedding prep updates in June!

Yina says hi

Welcome to my blog! My name is Yina Goh, and I own online boutique The Velvet Dolls. I'm passionate about travel, fashion, food, beauty and music. I love photography and taking photos to document my everyday!

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